When Everything's Made To Be Broken
by luvsbitca
Summary: Elly's got herself a date, and perhaps a boyfriend, however Nick isn't particularly supportive and everyone seems kind of surprised. Then someone from Elly's past comes back and everything gets even more complicated. Girl!Monroe story. Sequel to 'But Your Daddy Left You'.
1. Hank and Wu

**Title – **When Everything's Made To Be Broken  
**Sequel To – **But Your Daddy Left You  
**Author – **Moonbeam  
**Summary – **Elly's got herself a date, and perhaps a boyfriend, however Nick isn't particularly supportive and everyone seems kind of surprised. Then someone from Elly's past comes back and everything gets even more complicated. Girl!Monroe story. Sequel to 'But Your Daddy Left You'.  
**Warnings – **Spoilers for season 2, I am setting this after s02e05 – The Good Shepherd but I've seen more so... And of course genderswap.  
**Rating – **Teen (PG-13) there will be a sequel to this which will not be teen rated but I'm keeping the rating on this low.  
**Disclaimer – **I don't own anything, but oh the fun that could be had if I did.  
**Author's Notes – **Song title from 'Iris' by the Goo Goo Dolls because it just seems right.  
This occurs after s02e05 – The Good Shepherd and involves some of the information from s02e06 – Over My Dead Body.  
There are **so** many things I adore about season two, I am just loving almost everything. So I might have fiddle with some things but I'm not changing Nick's mum (so pleased she was 'good' in the show but I enjoyed writing her 'evil').

**When Everything's Made To Be Broken**  
by Moonbeam

**/ / / Hank and Wu \ \ \ **

Nick knocked on Elly's door a bag of her favourite fruit pastries from the bakery near the precinct behind his back in thanks for an especially good rescue the night before.

"You look nice," Nick said when Elly answered the door.

"I have a date, what do you need?"

"I just came by for a chat, nothing Grimm related." Nick looked at her she was wearing jeans like normal but her top was not at all checkered and she was wearing makeup. "A date?"

"Yeah, that guy I told you about meeting at the grocery store."

"Oh hey, Nick," Rosalee said coming out from behind Elly. "Okay, Elly. I'm off call me later and tell me how it went."

Nick watched Rosalee leave.

"Nick, do you need something?" Nick looked back at her and shook his head slowly. "I'll see you another time then? He's picking me up in a few minutes."

Nick nodded and stepped back allowing Elly to close the door behind him while he walked to his car and drove away.

Ten minutes later Nick walked into Hank's favourite pub to find his partner and Sargent Wu at the bar. He settled down next to them and ordered a whiskey.

"I thought you said you had plans," Wu said adding his own drink to Nick's order, apparently the last person there got to get the next round.

Nick shrugged and threw back his drink letting it burn the whole way down.

Wu and Hank looked at one another over Nick's head and took small sips of their own drinks as he ordered a second glass. The bartender put it down in front of him with a warning look and Nick sipped at his drink this time.

"So," Wu said slowly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Nick said and took a sip. "Nothing should be wrong."

Hank and Wu looked at one another over Nick's head again and Wu shrugged.

"But," Nick continued. "I'm kind of annoyed."

"About?"

"Elly's on a date."

"I see," Wu said. "And you're surprised you're not happy about this?"

Nick nodded.

"So that's why Rosalee went over to see her tonight."

"She was getting Elly ready for her date," Nick said into his drink. "Elly looked really excited."

"I'm glad," Hank said and both Wu and Nick looked at him. "I mean, I'm glad she's happy about her date not that you're upset about it."

"I'm hitting the head," Nick said throwing back the last of his drink. "Get me another one."

"He has no idea," Wu said. "You'd think a detective would be more aware of what is going on."

Hank shrugged. "Elly's just as bad."

"He needs to fix it," Wu said. "She is too good a cook to let her go." Hank looked at him and Wu shrugged. "Your turn to buy."

Hank nodded and gestured to the barmaid who came over to take their order.

"Your friend is going through his drinks quickly," she said.

"The woman he is in love with is going on a date and he hasn't realised he's in love with her yet," Hank explained.

"Double," she said with a smile. "I get it."

Hank smiled at her and Wu sighed. "You've already got a girlfriend, stop flirting with everyone else."

Hank smirked at Wu. "I can flirt, it's fun."

"Plus," the barmaid said. "I'm gay so it wouldn't matter if you were the one flirting."

"Oh well," Wu said standing and smiling at her. "I'll be back in a moment."

Nick passed Wu on the way back to their spot at the bar.

"I should be happy for Elly," Nick said sipping at his drink. "So I am going to be happy for her."

"Or," Hank said. "You could admit that you have feelings for Elly and go back there, tell her and see if she doesn't go out with you instead."

Nick was completely still and silent for a moment and then he laughed. "I'm not in love with Elly."

"You really are."

"No."

"Yes," Hank said. "You are and everyone knows."

"What are we talking about?" Wu asked when he came back from the bathroom.

"Nick being in love with Elly," Hank said before Nick could stop him.

"Oh yeah, you are crazy for her."

Nick stared at Wu. "I am not in love with Elly."

Wu rolled his eyes. "For a detective you really are quite stupid."

Nick glared but turned around to order another whiskey ignoring both of his colleagues. He sipped at the drink and they all sat in silent. When Nick took the last sip he turned to them, his eyes curious. "Why do you think I'm in love with Elly?"

"Nick, when you first talked about Monroe I thought it was a guy, and I thought you were going to come out to me at some point. Then I realised who you were talking about, the woman from the little girl case. Then she kept coming up and then Juliette left and she brings baked goods to the precinct and she keeps spare clothes at your house."

"And you keep some at hers," Wu pointed out.

"Plus," Hank said again. "She brings us cake."

"You mentioned that already," Nick pointed out.

"But it's very good cake," Wu said. "Deserves two mentions and if you stuff this up and she stops bringing us cake you will have the entire precinct mad at you."

Nick laughed. "I can't stuff up our friendship. She's…she's my best friend."

"And you're in love with her," Hank said.

Nick drank the last of his whiskey. "I'm going home. I'll see you both next week."

Wu and Hank watched him walk out of the bar.

"Do you think he's going to work it out?" Wu asked.

Hank shrugged. "He's working against _a lot_ of denial but he's a smart guy."

Hank stood up and slid his jacket back on.

"You off?"

"I have a girl I should be getting back to," Hank said with a smirk. "See you Monday."

"Bye," Wu said nodding at Hank as he walked out. "How am I the one left alone?"

"I would suggest," the barmaid said coming back. "Going and talking to the redhead at the end of the bar." Wu looked over and the woman smiled shyly. "Just saying."

Wu saluted the barmaid and went down to the end of the bar.

Nick made it to his car when he realised he'd had too much to drink. He swore and made sure the car was locked before he started walking home. He stopped in at a Chinese place on the way and ate vegetarian spring rolls as he walked.

Hank and Wu were obviously just seeing what they wanted, Nick thought as he dished out the rest of the food onto a plate. He took it into the lounge room and sat down. He turned on the movie he'd been watching last night and settled down to finish it.

Then he realised that he'd bought garlic tofu and stared down at his plate. He hated tofu – a lot. He only bought it because of Elly, in fact he looked down at his plate and realised that only one thing on the whole plate had meat in it.

He was immovable on Szechuan beef.

Everything else was vegetables and noddles and the things he bought when they were together. When it was just him he bought meat but he hadn't. Nick put his plate down and then picked it back up. It was silly, Hank and Wu were wrong and he had just ordered from habit…in fact, he was going to call them and order a couple more dishes. Something with meat. He reached for the phone and then shook his head. That was even sillier, he had enough food for…two, already. But that made sense because he was at Elly's all the time to work on Grimm things and to discuss their lives and just to hang out because they were friends and that was all they were. He often ordered enough for two and this meant he didn't have to cook tomorrow. That was obviously why he'd ordered so much, there was plenty here for leftovers tomorrow.

Nick reached for his weird, imported, German beer and studiously didn't think about when he'd stopped buying generic and American.

He watched his show and ate his food and didn't think about the fact that Elly had been the one to tape this movie on his machine.

They were best friends and that was it, that was all there was and they didn't need to justify themselves to anyone. Of course he listened to her, she was his best friend and she knew more about him than anyone did. She would know what movies would interest him and he never paid much attention, just watched whatever was on most of the time because he could never find the guide.

Nick went to bed after the movie finished and looked at the green sheets that Elly had helped him pick out after Juliette left. Juliette who'd left because she thought there was something going one with him and Elly.

Nick swore and shook his head, they were just incapable of understanding the relationship that Nick and Elly had because Juliette didn't know about him being a Grimm…and neither did Wu and Hank was all loved up with Rosalee so he_ would_ see love everywhere. Nick shook his head and had a hot shower and went to bed.

He hoped Elly was having a fun time, he _did_ and they were wrong.

**/ / / TBC \ \ \ **


	2. Roddy and Holly

**/ / / Roddy and Holly \ \ \ **

Nick woke up late the next morning and decided he should get to the cleaning he had been avoiding for the last few weeks. He used a robotic vacuum cleaner during the week while he was at work. Elly had insisted when she realised that while Nick wasn't a complete slob he occasionally was just too busy to dust and vacuum. Ever since his mother and Kimura had decimated half his house and he had, what Elly termed as going minimalistic, his cleaning was a lot easier than it had been when he was still with Juliette. There was just less stuff everywhere.

Nick was taking a break and eating leftover Chinese for a rather late breakfast when his phone rang. He wasn't on call but he was still expecting it to be the precinct, however, Roddy's name was flashing at him instead.

"Hello, Roddy."

"Hey, Nick," Roddy said whispering.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, my…umm, my dad is sleeping…I'm just trying to be quiet. Did you do that recommendation for me for university?"

Nick nodded and started for his computer. "I haven't printed it out but I have it all ready for you."

"Can I come and get it today?"

"Sure," Nick said. "I'll print it out now…hey, the hockey is on today isn't it? Do you want to come over and watch the game? I'll invite Elly and Barry."

"Yeah, sure," Roddy said. "But I can come and get the letter straight away?"

"Of course," Nick said wondering if he would need to go to the market to get some things. "Come as soon as you want."

"Great, Holly's mum is bringing me now."

"Holly's mum?" Nick asked but Roddy had already hung up. "I thought you were at home." Nick shook his head and went back to his food. He managed to finish in the kitchen and felt quite happy that the morning's work would do for another week so he called Elly.

"Hey, El," Nick said when she answered. "I have the day off and the hockey game is on, do you want to come over for it?"

"That sounds good," Elly said. "Roddy just walked out of the door but I can see if I can catch him."

"He was at your house?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He called me and told me that he was being quiet so his dad didn't wake up."

"That's strange," Elly said. "He came over for a practice and Holly came too. She loved it so I talked to her mum about taking Holly to the next concert."

"Sure," Nick said trying to work out why Roddy would have lied to him. "I'll see you later then."

"I'll bring something little."

"Great, bye."

Nick hung up and looked out the door waiting for Roddy. A few minutes later Claudia Clark stopped in front of his house and Roddy and Holly climbed out and rushed up the stairs. Nick had the door open before they had a chance to knock.

"Hey, Nick," Roddy said. "So, that letter?"

"I just spoke to Elly and she told me that you were at her house."

Roddy's shoulders slumped as soon as Nick said Elly's name and he looked at Nick apologetically.

"Why did you lie to me?"

"I was over at Elly's for a practice, I have that interview coming up and Mrs Clark brought Holly along and after when we were eating hot cinnamon buns Elly told her about the date she went on last night."

"Bad date," Holly said. "Elly should not go on dates."

"It was a bad date?" Nick asked. "I didn't even think to ask when I invited her to the hockey game."

"No," Roddy said. "That's just it; Elly said it was a great date. He was such a gentleman and the vegetarian restaurant was lovely and it was all so perfect and they're doing it again next week."

Nick hadn't realised he had been…pleased that Elly's date went badly until Roddy told him it went well. He was obviously just feeling a little jealous…of the fact that Elly might have found someone when he was admitting that he might never find anyone who could know about him being a Grimm and also want to spend their lives with him.

"But, her date going well is a good thing."

When Holly rolled her eyes Nick knew she'd been spending way too much time with Roddy.

"We came over to see if you knew," Roddy said suddenly looking down and shoving his hands into his pockets.

"You date Elly," Holly suggested with a smile.

"What? No."

Holly's face fell.

"Holly was thinking that you might be a little jealous of Elly and her date."

"It has been a while," Nick said. "But…why are we discussing this…Holly thought?"

"Fine," Roddy said, thrusting his shoulders back defiantly. "We were wondering what you are going to do to _fix_ this."

"Fix what?"

"Elly dating."

"Elly should be happy."

"Yeah," Roddy said. "Happy with you."

Nick was fairly certain the 'you idiot' he heard on the end was one of the more polite possibilities. "Oh, not you too."

"What?"

"Last night Wu and Hank were trying to convince me that I was in love with Elly. I don't know why, they know we're just friends."

Roddy looked at Nick like his was stupid and then he said it. "You are an idiot, you are both idiots I can't work out how two smart people cannot see what is in front of them, of course you love her, Hank is right and of course she has feelings for you she allows you to use her like a scent dog."

"I would never use her like that!" Nick said firmly.

"Whatever, Blutbaden show affection in a couple of very straightforward ways, close physical contact…which let me tell you the two of you do all the freaking time, feeding their intended partner…and Elly cooks for you so much you should be going halves in food shopping, and welcoming you into their territory…you sleep at Elly's more than you sleep here. Your scent is all over the place it's like a giant Wesen sign of possessiveness. So until she does those things with this guy you have a chance. Man up and stop being so fucking scared."

Roddy turned around and walked out waiting for Holly on the steps.

Holly walked over to Nick. "You love El-ly!"

"I don't…" Nick started. "I don't think I do."

Holly repeated herself. "You," she tapped Nick on the chest over the steady beat of his heart. "Love." Hit again. "El-ly!"

"Come on Holly, he's got to get there on his own."

Holly threw her arms around Nick before leaving the house.

"What about your recommendation?" Nick called out.

"I'll get it when I come over for the hockey game," Roddy said.

Nick watched the car drive away from in front of the house and shook his head. He was positive…mostly positive…that he didn't have feelings for Elly. The occasional dream was normal and if he hadn't had one since he'd been at university that didn't actually mean anything. But Roddy had asked Claudia to bring him to Nick's house, out of the way, when Roddy was reluctant to even take a lift when his house was on the way to the Clark's. Roddy had looked worried, Holly had been worried too but he wondered if she simply didn't like the idea of their group dynamic changing. Roddy being worried was the thing sticking in his mind. Roddy spent a lot of time with he and Elly, Roddy was quiet and observant as was his Wesen nature but he had made a point of coming here and telling Nick to do something. It was one thing to dismiss Wu, who was a little closet romantic, and another to dismiss Hank who was sickeningly loved up and at the stage where he and Rosalee were looking to make their single friends happy and coupled off. But Nick found it hard to dismiss Roddy's worries in the same way.

He would have to talk to Elly, and then maybe together they could have a talk to Roddy and find out what was really worrying him about the situation. Nick nodded, he'd talk to Elly after the hockey game and they would sort everything out.

Nick called Frank and Hank, who both agreed to come, and then he grabbed his keys and headed to the supermarket for the food he would need to feed everyone.

**/ / / **


	3. Frank and Barry

**/ / / Frank and Barry \ \ \ **

Nick pulled the tray out of the oven and slid it onto the table just as his front doorbell rang. Nick was never a very good cook but this had been fairly easy, rip open the packet and cook for a certain amount of time. It wasn't anywhere near the level of food they would have had at Elly's but it was passable.

Nick called out to the door. "Who is it?"

"Elly."

"Come in, it's open." Nick called out and began to spread the wings out.

Elly stopped next to him and placed a plate of mini cinnamon buns on the table. "I made some this morning for Roddy and Holly so I just whipped up some mini ones."

"They will go well with my wings," Nick said. "There are some vegetarian quiches in the oven as well."

"Wow," Elly said with a low whistle. "You cooked."

"I am capable," Nick said. "Thought it's all store bought but it's a day off and things have been pretty busy lately. I wanted to enjoy it and take advantage of some time off."

"I know you have," Elly said. "It looks good."

"There should be plenty for you to eat. You don't mind the chicken smell?"

"It smells really good," Elly said with a smirk and ran her finger through a dollop of sauce on the edge of the plate. Then she licked the sauce off her finger. "Very nice."

Nick shook his head and went to pull the vegetarian quiches out of the oven. "Did I forget anything?"

"Nope," Elly said looking at the table full of food. "Who's coming?"

"Barry, Frank, Roddy, Hank, Rosalee, and us."

"Probably enough food then," Elly say grabbing one of the hot quiches off the tray. "I'm going to go and sort out the TV."

While Elly sorted out the TV more people arrived, Rosalee and Hank first with a bottle of scotch, for the men, and one of red, for the ones with taste. Nick accepted them both with a smile and offered them both a plate.

"Elly," Rosalee said as soon as the Blutbad came back. "How was the date?"

Elly smiled. "It was lovely, he was very sweet."

Hank looked at Nick. "Is he a Wesen?"

"Yes," Elly said. "A Fuchsbau."

"Oh," Hank said looking at Rosalee with surprise.

"We had a lovely meal," Elly said. "A new vegetarian place."

"That's good," Nick said fiddling with the plates on the table. "I'm glad."

The doorbell rang and Nick walked out of the room to open it.

Claudia was standing at the door apologetically. "Hi, Nick, Holly really wanted to come and watch the hockey, I hope you don't mind us dropping in, I tried to call but no one answered."

"Oh, sorry," Nick said. "I'll have to check my phone, I must have left it on silent. Come in, come in, there is plenty of food and the match starts in fifteen."

Claudia smiled. "Thank you, we brought some cheese twists."

Holly held out the bag from the bakery in town and smiled at him. "Hi, Nick."

"Hey, Holly. Come in."

Holly beamed and walked in, Roddy walked in moments later.

"I caught the bus and have nothing. Hey, Nick."

"Food's in there," Nick said pointing behind him. Roddy beamed and went to get himself a plate.

"Claudia," Nick said with a smile. "I didn't think Holly liked hockey but anything like this you are always welcome."

"I didn't think she did either," Claudia admitted. "But she was very insistent."

Nick walked Claudia into dining room. "I think I know why."

"Why?" Claudia asked just as the doorbell rang again.

"It's Frank and Barry," Elly said. "I'll get it."

Nick turned to Frank and Barry when they came in. "Hi, come in and help yourselves."

"Nick," Claudia said when the Jägerbars were getting their food. "You know why my daughter has suddenly decided she loves hockey and needed to be here."

"This morning when they came to see me."

"Roddy said he needed to pick up a recommendation."

"They came because of Elly's date."

"Huh," Barry said walking between them to grab some wings. "I thought you two were knocking boots."

"Barry!" Frank said as his son walked away.

Barry ignored him and jammed himself onto the couch next to Roddy. "Move over."

"I was here first," Roddy said elbowing him.

Barry shrugged and started eating.

"I'm sorry about Barry," Frank said.

"You don't have to apologise for him," Nick said then turned back to Claudia. "They seemed worried, they think I have feelings for Elly and I think they are trying to protect me."

Claudia's face relaxed. "I'll have a word to her."

Nick smiled.

"There is nothing going on between you?" Claudia asked.

"We're friends," Nick said.

Claudia nodded and left. Nick turned back to the table to get a plate to find Frank staring at him.

"What you have to understand, Nick. Is that given the way you and Elly treat one another and the fact she is a Blutbad it is an easy mistake to make."

"Why?"

Frank looked at Nick carefully and then into the lounge room where everyone else was. "What do you know of Blutbaden mating rituals?"

"Nothing," Nick said.

"Maybe you should look them up," Frank suggested.

"What do you know that I don't?" Nick asked stepping closer to Frank and the Jägerbar stared down at him. For a moment Nick was forcibly reminded of the fact he was talking to a lawyer.

"A lot," Frank said flashing a sudden smile. "But if the rumours are true then you will have diaries somewhere and in one of them it will tell you everything you need to know."

"Why won't you just tell me?" Nick asked looking past Frank to his lounge room and Elly.

"Because," Frank said. "It would be improper for me to discuss the mating habits of a Blutbad. It is a private matter and I do not wish to get anything wrong. Some things are universal to Wesen like she and I but not everything. I think it is best that you look in the books."

Nick nodded. "Okay, thank you, sorry."

Frank smiled. "Don't worry about it, thank you for the food, and the invite, and for accepting my son."

"I'm glad he is settling in."

Frank nodded and walked away. Nick got his own plate of food and went to sit next to Elly to watch the game. He didn't pay as much attention to it as he should have.

Nick didn't ask Elly to stay. He smiled at her as she left the house and waited a few minutes before he left the house as well – going to his trailer and the Blutbaden book.

**/ / / **


	4. The Book

I am sort of dosed up on pain medication so if anything is shockingly rambly or makes no sense please let me know.

**/ / / The Book \ \ \ **

Nick had always found it odd that there was an entire book dedicated to Blutbaden in his trailer. Unfortunately, most of it was in German. Nick pulled out his laptop and opened up a translation website. He listed every word it could think of that related to mating rituals; mating, courting, bonding, marriage, betrothal, love, and as many more as he could think of. He started a list of German words: liebe, paarung, hofierung, bonden, heirat, verlobung, etcetera.

Nick started looking through the books, scanning for those words hoping he could find something. On a page in the middle, in green ink, were the words bonden and liebe. Nick began slowly typing the words into his translation website, sentence by sentence, and noted down the translation as he went. His stomach tightened with each word but he continued on until he had the whole section. Some parts of it didn't make a lot of sense but once Nick had fiddled with the words he had something that made sense and made him question his relationship with Elly.

_Blutbaden are concerned with three things – feeding, pack and their territory. Even those Blutbaden who do not slaughter humans for their food will still hunt and kill for fresh meat. The territory of a Blutbad is sacred and entering their territory without permission or warning will lead to death. Blutbad children are raised within the territory of their parents. When a Blutbad comes of age they participate in rites of passage from child to adult. When a Blutbad passes these rites they are expected to leave their parents' territory and find their own. These rites also mark the age at which a Blutbad may find and claim a mate. _

_Blutbaden mate exclusively with other Blutbaden._This section was crossed out and another section entered next to it in another hand. _Blutbaden mate with Blutbaden in most cases but have been known to marry Wildermann, Jägerbar, and in one case of hearsay – a Grimm. _

_Blutbad, like most mammalian predatory Wesen, are monogamous and refer to their husband or wife as mate or bonded. Like the rites of passage from child to adult Blutbad have to go through traditional actions to prove their suitability for matrimony. _

_The three most important things to a Blutbad are feeding, pack and territory. _

_A Blutbad's territory is marked by the owner of the property. The only scents allowed to remain on the territory of a Blutbaden are those of their packs. The scents of family, parents and siblings, are limited and scent marking is never allowed for any person that is not part of the pack that resides within the territory. The scents of visitors are covered by the Blutbads that claim that territory as their own as soon as the visitor leaves so that the scent cannot be mistaken as being part of their pack. Blutbaden territory has been observed to cover many acres of land, and many dwellings, for family packs, with clearly scented barriers between the homes, and land, of each individual family unit within the greater pack. Scents in the territory of a Blutbad mark out the exact members of the Blutbaden pack – the strength of the scent is directly connected to the strength of the bond between that person and the leader of the pack or the territory's owner. _

Nick wondered if Elly removed his scent every time he left. It would take a lot of time, especially in the month he had spent there when she was recovering.

_The territory of a Blutbad is sacred and entering their territory without permission or warning will lead to death._ Nick thought back to when they had first met, to when he had kept dropping by and the way Elly had reacted and he wondered if the only thing saving him from death was the fact she did not kill anymore. She had attacked him, jumped through the window at him because he went onto her land without asking. She had told him not to just drop by but she never seemed to enforce that so nick kept doing it. Nick wondered if he should stop just dropping around after all she had told him not to come at all when her brother was in town. Nick kept reading.

_Scent is important to Blutbaden, as is touch, just like the scent of pack members is intrinsic to the protection of the Blutbad's territory is it passed on between pack members. Touch and scent is shared between members of a Blutbaden pack. The scent of a Blutbad marks their mate as theirs just as is marks their territory as theirs. Between bonded pairs touch and scent are signs of affection. No bonded Blutbad has one noticeable scent, the scent of their partner _(wife or husband – the translation came up with so many words)_ would be almost as strong as their own. Children of a mated pair, should they be young, would also be present though their scent is never allowed to overpower that of the Blutbad's spouse. _

Nick thought back to what Roddy had said – 'close physical contact' but he touched a lot of people. He didn't though, Nick realised, a hand on the shoulder, the elbow, the occasional hug for people but for the most part he didn't touch anyone unless he had to. Except Elly. He and Elly touched a lot, little touches that didn't really mean anything. Except, he remembered his mother and father touching him like that – a hand on the head, arm around his shoulders, different to how Elly touched him and different to how he touched Elly – those touches more like the ones he shared with Juliette…before everything with his Grimm heritage. He told himself he and Juliette had touched as much as he and Elly did but he didn't believe his own lie.

_Pack for a Blutbad does not have to share blood but Blutbaden are social creatures who have to have a pack or family around them. Marks of pack are shown in scent, in touch, in meeting the basic needs of the pack – food, contact, and shelter. It does not matter that a Blutbad does not come from the same family if they both chose to create pack bonds between them. Blutbaden are concerned with the basic needs of their body and protection and if these are offered to another then pack bonds begin to form. _

Nick thought on Roddy and Holly and even himself, people that Elly put herself out to care for. She brought food to the station during difficult cases and offered them all a safe place to be themselves. Nick hadn't realised that Elly though about their little group of friends as anything other than friends and yet the idea made him smile. He would have to tell Hank about that and see if the other detective was still as enamoured with Elly's cooking if he knew that made him part of her pack.

_The bonds between married Blutbad are the same as those between members of the pack with the addition of love. Once a pair is bonded they are a liability to their partner as Blutbaden are territorial about not only their land but also people they consider to be part of their packs. Blutbaden, once bonded, are married for life and they will do anything they can to protect one another, will often give their life to protect their pack. Using pack against a Blutbad will always get results and a lone Blutbad is the most dangerous as they have no one to provide for or to protect. Territory and the skills of Blutbaden are all ways of showing perspective pack members, and bondmates, that they can protect what they wish to be theirs. These things, being the most important to Blutbaden, can be used in the hunt and should be remembered. _

The rest of the passage instructed Nick on the best way of identifying a Blutbaden mate and then using them to flush out and kill the rest of the pack. The ways of identifying a Blutbaden mate were perhaps the most interesting, and the most worrisome, of everything that Nick had read so far.

_The ways of identifying a Blutbad mate. The person they touch or speak to the most. The person they would sacrifice their own safety for. The person who can enter their territory without invitation or warning. The person who they care for above others. _There is a note here to be careful with this as a Blutbad's children can be cared for more than a mate. _Their hunting partner. Anyone who the Blutbad will willingly and without fear allow to stand behind them or to touch their backs. _

Nick looked down at his notes again and saved the file that he had been copying the translation into. He knew Elly didn't think of him as anything other than his friend. He knew she wouldn't lie about something like that but everything he had read, every single thing they had done together since they have meet was covered in the words he had just read. She had sacrificed her safety for him, she touched him and they spoke more than once a day, she allowed him to **live** **in her territory** for over a month, they hunted together and…Elly had more than once told him she trusted him to watch her back – her most vulnerable place.

The part that ran through Nick's mind. The part that made him slam the Blutbad book closed and shove it into the closet. The part that made him leave the trailer and drive home without worrying if he was being followed or even noticing if he was doing the right thing on the road was the little spark of **hope**. That feeling in his chest and his gut that liked the idea of Elly thinking of him like that. Thinking of him as hers, as her…mate?

He had thought they were friends.

But, every word he had read made him want the relationship they described, made him want them with Elly and he wasn't sure when he'd stopped thinking of her as just his friend Elly.

He wanted her and the force of his want shocked him. He hadn't wanted her this morning – he was sure of it. He hadn't wanted her yesterday but he had been jealous of her date and he had been so worried when he realised that the relationship they had might change. He locked himself inside his house and thought about what this all meant.

He wanted Elly.

Elly thought of him as a friend.

Elly was dating someone else. Someone she liked.

Nick had lost his chance and he hadn't even known that he had one.

**/ / / **


	5. Avoidance

**Direct spoilers for s02e06 - Over My Dead Body **- I have altered the dialogue from the script so it doesn't get heavy and feel like repetiton. Uni's over, my Star Trek big bang's finished so I'm getting back to everything else now.

**/ / / Avoidance \ \ \ **

Nick decided to take some time off. He wanted to decide if he was simply listening to the people around him or if he had actually been ignoring the fact he had feelings for the best friend he had ever had. He worked, and the caught up on the online German course he had neglected in the last couple of weeks. He was getting good; he had worked out how to count, say greetings and farewells and ask someone's name. He was feeling quite disheartened about the whole thing but he supposed it would take him some time to learn German. He let Elly's calls go through to his voicemail and stayed late at work to get his paperwork finished. Hank looked at him on Tuesday night like he was a coward but Nick's partner never complained about Nick doing half of his work.

On a Wednesday Nick had no choice but to take Elly's call when she called his place while he had Hank over for pizza and a game.

"Hi, Elly." Hank said. "I'll just get him."

Nick had no choice but to take the phone from Hank. "Elly?"

"Nick," Elly whispered. "I need to talk to you."

"It's not a great time, can we talk later?"

"Someone placed a hit on me and I thought I might be a nice idea for you to stop them."

Nick looked at Hank. "I'll be there as soon as I can." Nick hung up on Elly.

"Emergency?" Hank asked and Nick nodded. "Wesen thing?"

"Someone's been hired to kill her," Nick whispered.

Hank stared at him for a moment. "Go, I'll sort out the food and close everything up."

"Thanks." Nick grabbed his things and left Hank to his house. When he made it to Elly's she was wearing a dress and Nick started at her for a long moment.

"She had a date," a voice said from behind Nick and he spun pulling his gun as he went to point at…Angelo.

"What is he doing here?" Nick threw over his shoulder to Elly.

"I'm the one who was hired to kill Elly." Angelo volunteered.

"Put your hands behind your back, you are under arrest," Nick said stepping closer to Angelo.

"He came and told me that he'd been hired," Elly said stepping between them. "He could have just killed me."

"I don't trust him."

"Feelings mutual," Angelo said letting his eyes bleed red. "But Elly's more important, isn't she?"

Nick swore and lowered his gun.

"I have about twenty-three hours before they want to see her dead." Angelo told him.

"Who?"

"A Königschlange."

"Name?"

"If I had a name I wouldn't be talking to you, Grimm."

Elly's mobile picked that moment to ring and Elly pulled it out of her dress. Nick stared at her for a moment trying to work out where it had even come from.

"It's James," Elly said. "Can you two not kill one another for, like, a second?"

"Yeah," Nick said looking down.

Elly left the room and Angelo grinned at Nick when he looked up. "So, what are you doing? Letting her date someone else?"

"How'd you get the job?"

"I killed the guy who was supposed to have the job and they gave it to me."

Nick turned and left the room to find Elly still on the phone. She looked over at Nick. "Did you know he killed another guy tonight?"

"James, I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll call you when I've got all of this worked out."

Nick could hear a voice through the phone but it wasn't loud enough for him to hear any of the words. Elly hung up the phone a second later.

"Yeah, he killed the guy who was supposed to kill me. They gave her a phone."

"I'm supposed to deliver the body to them, they're going to call me." Angelo said from the doorway behind Nick holding the phone out.

"It's untraceable," Nick said twisting the phone around. "I can't do anything with it. I'm going to have to get you somewhere safe, Elly."

Nick and Angelo came to an agreement about Nick not arresting Angelo and the Blutbad agreed to help him trace the guy who had hired him. Nick didn't like it, he wanted to throw Angelo in jail but he would do what he needed to do to keep Elly safe. If his response to her in danger, to her in a dress, to knowing she had invited…James, to her house was any indication avoidance wasn't going to do him any good. He just needed to sort this out, get her safe and then he could worry about the fact he kept thinking about kissing her.

"So," Elly said. "Where are you going to keep me safe?"

"Hank," Nick said. "He'll be back at his place by now."

Elly nodded. "I'm going to change."

Nick watched her walk up the stairs and turned back around to find Angelo watching him. "What?"

Angelo smirked at him, his eyes bleeding red. "I can smell you."

"So?"

"You think she's going to miss the reek of want?"

"I will shoot you if I need to."

Angelo laughed. "No, you won't, because Elly is too important to you to hurt me."

"And she's not important to you?"

"Of course she is," Angelo said. "I wouldn't be here if she wasn't."

"I'm ready," Elly said coming back down the stairs and Nick couldn't stop the smile. He preferred her like this, her hair back in a ponytail, the dress swapped for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She smiled at Nick. "No bloodshed, good."

/ \ / \ / \

Nick rubbed his hand over his face. She was in danger because of him. It wasn't like last time when they wanted to send a message. This time they wanted to kill her. Angelo swung back into his car and Nick slid the phone into his pocket before he started the engine.

"So, it's all your fault."

"I heard."

"I knew you were going to get her killed. I came back and I tried to get her to come with me but she refused to leave."

"She doesn't live your life anymore. She's Wieder now."

"That's crap," Angelo said with a growl. "She stayed because of you."

"No, she didn't." Nick knew that for sure. "You killed a guy last night and you don't even care. She does, she would, she is trying to be better. She is dating some guy named James and-"

"Fuchsbau," Angelo said like he was cursing. "So, are you going to deny the fact that I can still smell you all over her?"

"We're friends."

"Are you so useless as a Grimm that you don't know how important scent is to us."

"She considers me pack."

"We used to fuck and I don't think she ever smelled that much like me."

Nick turned to glare at Angelo who was grinning at him.

"So, you've worked it out. You have fluffy feelings for her."

"Just shut up so I can drive."

Angelo laughed at him.

**/ / / **

Next chapter has Elly's POV.


End file.
